Pure Android on phones

[TheArium]

I was rather disappointed with the reviews of the Nexus 5 camera. It's a really cool phone but that kinda ruins it for me until it is documented an update fixes it (if possible).

 

Anyway, that led me to wonder:

 

A) Why don't any manufacturers produce pure Android phones so that there is more to choose from for people who want pure Android and instant updates?

 

B ) Can you take an Android phone like HTC One, Galaxy S4 etc. and put pure Android 4.4 Kitkat - and then once an update releases manually update to 4.5, 4.5 etc. - on it?

[Guest]

yes you can put a vanilla andriod on any phone but i think someone needs to make a kernal and os for it not sure

[Andrew0472]

isn't that the purpose of putting custom roms or whatever like cyanogen to remove the bloatware and get close to stock android. I wonder if it costs more for producers to run stock android, like if you have to pay google a larger share or something. Its probably on google somewhere im just too lazy too look 

[TheArium]

Well yes Cyanogenmod does some of the work, but it's still  a mod and not just Android as Android is. It's like Nexus series doesn't fill out the gap. On one hand you have quick updates, pure android and poor camera. On the other you have slow updates, a skin (that is sometimes laggy) and a basis for a good camera experience. If Google would make more Nexus devices our more manufacturers would make pure Android devices, the selection would be far greater...

 

I was just thinking, does the Google Play Editions of Android phones differ from the pure Android experience in terms of software?

[KatanoWaki]

The Nexus devices are made by manufacturers that start off with blank AOSP code and build drivers and make it work. The same goes for branded or overlaid devices. They start out with Android and in addition to making Android work they put their own apps and changes into it. They want to be unique. They would make a proprietary OS but Android just saves them money in R+D and has a good base. To Samsung it's not an Android device they are selling, they want the consumer to see it as Samsung Touchwiz device. Same goes for HTC Sense and Motorola Blur ( back before Google bought them ). And as far as I know it would cost them less to put AOSP on a device because they won't be paying programmers to make bloatware and apps that overlap what Google already has made, Google doesn't get any extra royalty for AOSP.

 

I would love to see AOSP on more devices. And it's striking how many people see my phone with CM and love the sleek look and no bubbly overlays and ugly colors. And its super fast and with my slim little Ville I get phenomenal battery life.

[daniel98]

Building from AOSP source is an option, but it's hard to compile a proper kernel etc.

[Lyons]

a - no

b - yes (with Cyanogenmod/etc.)

[KamiKatze]

I haven't really looked at the update scheme for the HTC One and Galaxy S4 Google Play editions but those are the closest you can get to a High end smartphone with a good camera and vanilla android without any hassle.